Well, where to even start. What a day!
When I dreamt up LiveStack, the whole reason behind it was that I felt a sense of community through a computer screen that I’ve never known before. Something told me that these people - the humans of Substack - are a special tribe of creative, kind, inspirational folk who are not only walking the path I’ve found myself on, but are laying each brick of it and showing the way. There’s been a kindred spirit vibe there from the beginning.
In my previous life in the NHS, I was around people ALL the time. And yes, I’m really quite introverted underneath, and there’s probably a reason I went into surgery and spent a lot of time working with sleeping people… But I was very rarely alone. Forging the creative path involves a lot more time wandering, thinking, and sitting at a desk in an empty house. And I love that space to think, and the freedom it’s brought. And I still miss that human contact that is all I’ve ever known.
So LiveStack was born from that desire to bottle the community, kindred vibe of the friends I’ve made on Substack and alchemise it with a dose of opportunity to meet in real life, and see what magic can flow. Well today, for the second time in a week, the universe made it happen… and this time, it was BIG!
Today, I had the incredible privilege of joining
, founder and host of Ease Retreats, and the Queen 👑 of Substack herself, for the Substack - With Ease Retreat in the glorious Oxfordshire countryside. And when I say glorious, I’m underselling it.I spent the day sharing dreams, birthing ideas, and devouring the best chocolate brownies I’ve eaten this year, along with Claire, Tanya and eleven other gorgeous women -
, , , , , - Caroline Harris, , and others who I look forward to seeing on this platform very soon.Working through a series of journal prompts and open discussions has helped me to form so many plans for this publication as well as my wider career direction, that I can’t wait to develop so that I can share them with you, but for now, here are a couple of little videos to give you a taster of the day. The clip at the top of this post is from my first ever ‘Substack Live’ - you can probably tell I had not a clue what I was doing, but we had fun anyway, and I managed not to fall in the pool so I’m counting that as a win. I did end up accidentally emailing an unedited live clip to >400 readers of my other publication, Anatomy of a Decision, though - oops. So the second video was recorded the ‘old fashioned’ way until I get my Substack Live Driving License.
Look out for Tanya’s upcoming post too - she always has the most stunning photographs of these retreat days!
If any of this has whet your appetite, Tanya has THREE more divine retreats planned for the rest of this year. And honestly, if I could be at every single one of them, I would. Take a look!
And if you too would like to benefit from Claire’s incredible expertise and generosity to create a Substack publication you’re proud to call home, she has a signature course ‘Your Beautiful Substack Magazine’ starting this Sunday - you can join her here:
I’m off to London now, ready for
’s writer meet up & open mic night on Monday, so I’ll be back here with an exclusive share from that event on Tuesday. It’s not (quite) too late to join us if you fancy it? (But best get a wriggle on if you do!) Just get in touch with Amy, or there are more details here:
In the meantime, have a lovely weekend, and let me know what live events you want to go to next?
Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for the latest directory of events, it’s here:
And I’d love it if you’d join this gorgeous growing community of creatives who enjoy a little bit of in person contact with the world beyond the screen - I’m so grateful you’re here!
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